Hand Towel Messenger bag

I have always been inspired by vintage linens, this time vintage 

hand/dish towels. I decided to create a bag using two dish towels. 

I was a little gung ho, so I didn't take any during pics. 

The towels were similar to this one.

Here's the finished product, but I will explain how I created it.

 I used one whole towel for the main bag, folding it in half. 

The 2nd towel I used for the strap and reinforcing 

the top of the bag, which is very european.

The strap was a bit too long so I folded it over and stitched.

This is a french nightgown, you can see how it's reinforced on the shoulders.

You can see where I reinforced the top of the bag where I also attached the strap.

 I used one of my many vintage buttons, I thought the yellow complimented the blue stripes.

 I took the original tag from one of the towels and stitched it to the outside as a label.

I  must say, I thought this was a fabulous idea! Yes, I did pat myself on the back : )

 I used extra linen fabric scraps to make pockets on the inside of the bag, on both sides.

This towel still has it's original label! This will be my next one, 

although I only have one towel, maybe it will be a smaller version.

This will be the label on this bag!

I am now on the hunt for more vintage hand/dish towels similar to these!

Thanks for looking!

Making The World Cuter Monday  

Metamorphosis Monday

Tuesday's Treasures

Twice Owned Tuesday

Tuesday Trash to Treasure
Our Delightful Home
Overflowing with Creativity

White Wednesday  

Good Life Wednesday

Show & Tell Wednesdays 

Transformation Thursday 

Strut Your Stuff Thursday 

Feathered Nest Friday

Frugal Friday

Show & Tell Friday 

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Freckled Laundry

Burlap Coffee Bean Sack Turned Pillow Sham!

I found these burlap coffee bean sacks at a yard sale last summer and 

thought they were really cool . I decided to turn them into pillow shams!

This is how they looked when I began. 

I cut them to size for use as a standard pillow sham.

Once again, I should have taken more during pics : (

I used some pieces of white linen I had left over from another project 

to make a band around the opening and to make some ties.

I wish I had more designs to work with, maybe I'll find some different brands in the future. 

Today I was in Home Goods and noticed they had boxes covered in what looked 

like burlap coffee bean sacks (almost decoupaged). They looked really cool, and may be 

one of my next projects! What a fun idea for storage!

Maybe not the softest thing to lie back on, but certainly cool to look at!

Hmmnn...  what's the word I am looking for?

 Contradicting?  

Sleep... coffee beans... it never crossed my mind until now!

Joining these parties:

Tuesday's Treasures

Twice Owned Tuesday

Tuesday Trash to Treasure
Good Life Wednesday

Transformation Thursday 

Strut Your Stuff Thursday 

Feathered Nest Friday

Frugal Friday

Show & Tell Friday 
Hodgepodge Friday
Sassy Sites

Freckled Laundry

Funky Junk Interiors

Fit for a Princess!

My Little Princess Stool!

I have been sewing for years and of late I have been wanting to take on slip covers.  
My first one here is a simple one, but I am very proud of my little princess stool. 
I have shown step by step how I created it, if anyone has any suggestions on making it easier or better I would love to hear from you!

I have to thank my friend Amy from Maison Decor for suggesting this idea to go with a 
vanity that I have had for awhile. With no luck of finding a chair to fit in between the opening because it's too narrow, luckily I had a stool that was just right! I'll show a pic of the stool with the vanity in a later post.

Here's a close-up showing how beautiful the fabric is, this is heavy home decor fabric, 
can you believe I bought it for $3 a yard??!!  Great Deal.

Okay, here's the before pic. 

First I primed, painted in a bright white and distressed.

After the distressing was done, 

I added a cushioned seat with foam and batting, 

then covered with plain white fabric.

In order to get the size right for the top, 

I flipped the stool upside down and traced a circle around it on the fabric 

(leaving plenty of extra for sewing). 

 To get a good circle I folded it in quarters and cut the corner 

(I hope this makes sense). 

Then I created the piping (my first time : ) 

I also made cuts into the fabric and the piping to make it sit properly, 

here it is pinned together, now for sewing!

Then, I made the skirt. 

I went around the stool approx. twice so I would have plenty of fabric to gather. 

I hemmed the bottom and sewed ends together. 

For gathering I stitched around the top using a #4 straight stitch 

so I could pull and gather my fabric.

Here it is all gathered and pinned to the top, time to sew!

Here is the skirt stitched to the top, doesn't look right, does it?!  

At this stage I realized I should have created an edge with piping all around. 

I guess I was getting lazy and wanted to finish! I am going to create a band that goes all around the top, sewing it directly under the piping, that should do it!

I created a long, wide band, 

now I am ready to attach 

(let's hope this does the trick)! 

I am actually finishing this in the middle of the night 

(couldn't sleep)

pics are not great (not much light), 

still using camera in phone : 0 ... until I get a new one.

I think it did the trick!  

What do you think?  Fit for a princess? 

I'd love to hear any suggestions from you seasoned slip cover creators!

I can't wait to start a new one!

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